Cave Spider Meta sp. (presumed M. menardi)
02/12/2022 In sandstone caves near Raw Head, Cheshire
A visit today, along with Jeff Hodgson, to the Raw Head section of Cheshire’s Sandstone Trail. It was a foggy morning, enlivened by Ravens calling overhead, but with very few small birds in evidence. In the smaller of the two caves, sometimes referred to as Bloody Bones Cave, we found over 30 hibernating Herald moths, along with numerous Cave Spiders (Meta sp.), with one obvious egg sac hanging among some rootlets. I have read varying opinions as to whether these spiders prey on the moths or confine themselves to smaller fare, but there was no obvious interaction between the spider and moth which I photographed together.
Cave Spider Meta sp. (presumed M. menardi)
02/12/2022 In sandstone caves near Raw Head, Cheshire
A visit today, along with Jeff Hodgson, to the Raw Head section of Cheshire’s Sandstone Trail. It was a foggy morning, enlivened by Ravens calling overhead, but with very few small birds in evidence. In the smaller of the two caves, sometimes referred to as Bloody Bones Cave, we found over 30 hibernating Herald moths, along with numerous Cave Spiders (Meta sp.), with one obvious egg sac hanging among some rootlets. I have read varying opinions as to whether these spiders prey on the moths or confine themselves to smaller fare, but there was no obvious interaction between the spider and moth which I photographed together.